A blockbuster new book by a distinguished author has documented an epidemic of young teenage girls suddenly declaring themselves to be “transgender.” These teens previously exhibited no signs of gender confusion.
Abigail Shrier, the author of the book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, builds on rigorous independent peer-reviewed and published scientific research by Lisa Littman, MD MPH of Brown University that dubbed the phenomenon “rapid onset gender dysphoria.” Dr. Littman and Ms. Shrier found that this situation often follows intense social media immersion and that quite often these girls are part of a friend group where other group members (sometimes all of them) also suddenly claim to be transgender.
These girls are not transgender at all. Like millions before them, they are lonely, confused and vulnerable girls who are struggling to find their place in the world. Shrier interviewed thousands of people for her book, including countless teenage girls claiming to be transgender. She described the situation thusly: “These are the same girls that would have been anorexic. They would have been bulimic. They are high anxiety, very precocious girls but they don’t really fit in. They come to high school and they don’t have friends. They don’t have a clique for them. They are so smart and they’re so lonely because they’re on the Internet all the time and they’re with mom all the time and they don’t fit in at school. This is a way to understand the pain that they are really feeling – they’re in pain – but they decide that their problem is they’re supposed to be a boy, and the fix is testosterone.”
By declaring themselves to be transgender, these girls gain immediate social status, become admired on social media and gain the approval of their teachers and other adults who have become “trans friendly” in today’s PC culture.
As if this new pandemic of transgenderism wasn’t enough to be concerned about, independent medical experts have confirmed a shocking revelation from Ms. Shrier made in an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Shrier reported that teenage girls are actually able to go into Planned Parenthood and—on the basis of their own self-diagnosis—sign an informed consent document and walk out that day with a regimen of testosterone to begin their gender “transition.” “Nobody questions it,” Shrier told Rogan. “We now have informed consent. Which means you walk into Planned Parenthood, you sign a waiver, you decide you have gender dysphoria, you walk out that day with testosterone.” Rogan was shocked to hear this. “Planned Parenthood is doing this?” he asked. ”Yeah, one of the biggest distributors,” Shrier replied.
With no independent medical examination, no prior therapy, no mental health evaluation, no physical exam and perhaps not even a required medical history, teenage girls are able to leave Planned Parenthood and other clinics with testosterone, a powerful hormone that has the potential to cause life-altering damage to their bodies.
It’s not just gaining immediate access to testosterone treatment that these confused young teens get by self-diagnosing as transgender. Believe it or not, Shrier reports that some physicians will actually surgically remove a girl’s breasts based on nothing more than her self-diagnosis that she believes herself to be a boy.
I can’t think of any other serious medical condition whereby a patient can diagnose herself and then begin invasive treatment that has the potential to cause permanent bodily and psychological harm. Clearly, what is happening has little to do with medical science and everything to do with LGBT politics.
The practice of self-diagnosis of gender dysphoria must be banned. Nobody should be able to undergo invasive medical treatment including receiving powerful hormones or other prescription medication – let alone debilitating surgery that will scar her for life – without a proper diagnosis from a qualified physician.
Thankfully, the International Organization for the Family (publisher of iFamNews.com) is joining with the National Organization for Marriage in a petition effort calling on President Donald Trump and leaders of Congress to ban the self-diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
To read the petition to President Trump and leaders of Congress, click here. Please add your name to the petition and share it with all your friends and family. The health and future of thousands of vulnerable girls who are being swept up in this new pandemic of transgenderism depends on it.
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